


Part 1: Hellfire

by carrie_the_small



Series: The Diary of Princess Gallahan [1]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alligators, Everyone Has Issues, Multi, Negan (Walking Dead) is an automatic warning, Sort of a songfic?, Team as Family, Twins, Y'all need God, bamfs all around, because not every 1st POV can look like it's coming from your english teacher, chain whip, creative names for zombies, exploration of politics and mental issues, literally an entire swim team of BAMF ladies, purposeful minor grammar/spelling mistakes, referenced recreational drug use and underage sex/drinking, references to other fandoms - Freeform, sue me, this is not Negan/OC, written like a diary, yes I gave this story a set timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-05 20:05:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12196491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrie_the_small/pseuds/carrie_the_small
Summary: Jay Gallahan is spoiled. Tough, but spoiled. Too bad she'll have to learn how to survive all by herself when the dead start to rise.





	1. 10/31/10

10/31/10

Managed to grab this empty notebook in an old Wal-Mart today. Hopefully I can write in this so Avian can know what happened to me. I'm too tired to write too much today, so basic stuff only. My name is Jay Gallahan. I’m 15. I was going to be swimming in the 2016 Olympics, or maybe the 2012 ones if I was lucky, but no way is that happening now. Avian, if you have this, I miss you and I’m sorry I couldn't live long enough to find you. And Daria, if you're there, I hid emergency supplies where I used to hide my weed. Love you sis. Xamia and Thor, if you and the other girls on the swim team find this, I’m sorry we couldn't start our new season this summer, but know that I’m still alive because I can swim long distance in the Atlantic. You can do this, all of you.


	2. 11/1/10

11/1/10

I said I was going to explain exactly how my sorry ass survived the Armageddon, and I’ve got all the time in the world when I’m not hauling ass to get away from the decomps. I’ll start with the day it all went to shit.  
I’d invited the swim team over to my place for a pre-season party. Nothing fancy or anything. It was just going to be the twenty of us eating the takeout of our choice and bitching about our lives and the 5 AM swim practices. We were heading to my place in three cars. Taylor was driving one car, Hallie was driving another, and Daria was driving her car. It was me, Daria, Mia, Susanne, and Rachel all crammed into Daria’s fancy ass convertible that I really miss now. Could've used that speed getting away from the decomps a few times. Anyway, we were loading into the three cars in the high school parking lot after team practice with the guys, and as we were driving out I thought I saw something weird. It was this homeless guy we’d seen around the dumpsters a few times but never got the chance to talk to. Hobos always look kind of scruffy and dirty, but this guy looked nasty as all hell. We slowed down so we could see him better, because from far away he looked like he’d lost a fight with some paint and a sharp pair of scissors. But then he started coming toward us, and I told Daria to put the pedal to the medal because that's when I saw what was wrong. He was dead. He was literally a dead man walking. The back of his head was all caved in like someone had taken out the back of his skull with a bigass ice cream scoop, and one of his hands was lying there next to the dumpster. I probably would've thought it was a prank if I hadn't seen the guy around when he was alive. Once the other two cars saw us booking it in front of them they came tearing after us.  
All three of our cars managed to make it to the house. Our parents were gone somewhere when hell came raining down, so our first decomp kills waited for later. We all freaked the fuck out at once, all 21 of us. Mia was the smallest freshman on the team, so we all kind of hugged her. We hadn't even practiced with her for a week and we knew she was an adorable ass kitten that needed protection. Daria had the good sense to turn on the electric fence once we were all inside, so at least we didn't have to worry about getting eaten in our sleep.  
Kara’s aunt was some kind of scientist. Kara told us that her aunt had been talking about some kind of virus that took over the brain after death. She couldn't remember the details, but she said that the decomps (Kara’s nickname for them that’s stuck with me ever since) were dangerous and they ate any living human they could smell. That started another wave of freaking out, of course. Mia started crying because apparently the whole situation brought back memories of her last foster home, and we all hugged her again.  
We spent our first day gathering up food and water. Kara and Goldie had some kind of genius moment and managed to reroute our automatic sprinkler system to the rest of the house so we had water as long as we had pressure in the pipes. We laid out all the “perishable” food and ate it right away. Rachel turned on the TV, and we watched the world die. None of us let Mia near the TV. I still have no idea why this hell reminded her of her old foster home, but it was really bad because she didn't say a word to any of us for days. I saw our parents in decomp form stumbling toward a locked car that had a man inside holding his rosary and praying. Daria and I didn't sleep that night. I missed Avian, my buff as balls boyfriend that's probably still alive even now because he's buff as balls and takes no shit from no one. Daria missed Tallulah, her friend from the hospital.  
We started freaking out again. It came and went in waves. One of us would start crying, we’d all start crying. One of us woke up screaming from a nightmare, we’d all start screaming. Hallie constantly called her brother’s cell phone.  
Being cooped up drove us all a little crazy. I kept peeking outside only to watch our former neighbors get fried on the electric fence. We were in there for two weeks before food started going. Daria decided to make a food run. She took Taylor and Susanne because they were seniors and they were tough from years of swim practice and working out on the daily with their gym monkey boyfriends. They came back with bags full of everything they could get their hands on from Walmart. They’d taken Hallie’s car because it was one of those bigass trucks you almost needed a ladder for to get into. I’m glad they did because the front of Hallie’s truck came back covered in blood and guts and bloody handprints from decomps.  
We kept doing grocery runs like that for a while until the Walmart was completely decomp occupied. But by that point we had enough canned food to last us


	3. 11/3/10

11/3/10

Damn decomps interrupting my confessional. Just as well. I don't think I’m ready to think about Mia and the others.

I miss swimming. Not swimming in the ocean, swimming in the pool back when I held records and I was on the fast track to the 2016 Olympics. I miss being able to focus on how I moved my arms to get the best technique. I miss my swim cap! There’s something I never thought I’d say! I miss Mia. She was a real sweetheart. Probably a dead sweetheart by now. I miss Susanne, too. Her favorite thing was to show off by grabbing one of us and lifting us into the air for a hug. We all called her Thor. When we took team pictures, she had Mia sitting on one shoulder and Jo sitting on the other, and Maisie and Francine were doing splits in front of the rest of us.

I can't think about them. I need to think about the future.

This is my chance to make the world better. Daria always said that teenagers are the best hope for the future of humanity. She said that we're at the age where we have a rough idea of what the world is like but we don't know enough to crush our hope completely. Now that Earth is in decomp hands, it’ll be easy to make the changes I want in society. All I need to do is make it to an island


	4. 11/22/10

11/22/10

I managed to barricade a trailer. Maybe the truck attached to it still works. That’d be the day! I had to take out a couple decomps in the backseat, but it was easier than my first decomp kills. Now that I know to go for the head I can spend less time finding weak spots and more time shooting and slicing. Kara called these guys decomps for a reason. I ran into one a few days ago that was falling apart at the seams. I don't know how long it takes for a human to decompose, but if decomps fall apart like human bodies do, I might just survive this dick of a new life after all. All I’d have to do is clear an island and wait a few years! If I can find a boat in working order and people I trust to not do anything dumbassed or halfassed, I’m golden. Wish me luck. There's not many people left, and I’ve never been good at trusting people to work as hard as I do.


	5. 12/25/10

12/25/10

Merry Christmas I guess. This is the worst Christmas I’ve ever had, and that includes the year Daria finally figured out what we really meant to our parents.

I’m busy with a completely unbelievable thing. Seriously unbelievable. I don't even know if what I'm doing has been done before.

I keep track of the days by drawing them on my leg with a sharpie I found. That way someone on Earth will know what day it is.

I probably won't write for a while. Bethany needs me. The next time I write, it’ll be because Bethany and I are on the move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably be updating this five chapters at a time. I have a good chunk of this story all written out, but I want to get the first part out there. FYI, you won't run into anyone you recognize until part 2. Until then, you get to learn more about this character that decided it was her time to shine. I have absolutely no idea what started this other than listening to random Gorillaz songs and needing some use for my swimmer's knowledge.  
> Love you all,  
> carrie


	6. 1/3/11

1/3/11

Bethany’s making good progress. I managed to dig the bullets out from her, but she still can't move around much. I’ve got her hidden in somebody's pool. Hopefully no one finds her while I’m out hunting. She eats like a horse. Thank god she eats anything I put in front of her. I’d let her eat decomps if I thought it was safe.


	7. 1/15/11

1/15/11

Just thought I should clarify that Bethany is an alligator.


	8. 1/27/11

1/27/11

Happy birthday to me. I'm sixteen now. Fuck.


	9. 2/10/11

2/10/11

Bethany is the best! She still can't walk for very long, but she was scary enough to send a whole gang of bodybuilders running! Well, they would've run if I hadn't killed them. Should I feed them to Bethany? I’ve made sure they won't turn decomp.


	10. 2/11/11

2/11/11

I’m feeding them to Bethany piece by piece. It’s work hacking them into bits small enough for Bethany to swallow without hurting herself, but now I won't have to go hunting for a few days.


	11. 2/12/11

2/12/11

The pool I’m keeping Bethany in is in someone's backyard. It's a huge pool, a huge backyard, and a huge mansion. I wish I could swim in the pool, but I’m still not totally sure Bethany won't eat me. I’m going to check in the house later for anything I can find about reptiles. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a whole book on gators! I hope I do. Bethany’s way harder to look after than a dog.


	12. 2/14/11

2/14/11

Apparently gators eat fruit sometimes. I dropped an apple I found and she ate it like it was popcorn. I’ll have to work to get Bethany a balanced diet. Maybe she’s just starving like the rest of us?


	13. 2/15/11

2/15/11

Jackpot! A few houses over had a room with a shit ton of sciency books in it, and I found one with a huge section on “the crocodylia order”. According to the book, Bethany is a bonafide gator of massive proportions, even considering her species. Bethany might actually be a boy, but I can’t get close enough to tell. If Bethany’s a boy, I’ll call her Benny or something. Also, turns out alligators can eat a good chunk of their body weight in one sitting. I should probably go feed her now. Maybe that’s why she’s so restless?


	14. 2/16/11

2/16/11

I’m pretty sure Bethany wants me dead. She keeps making this creepy hissing noise at me. It kind of sounds like the world’s largest cat, but cold blooded. This one time Maisie and Roxie and Xamia and Alaska and me were road tripping through the Everglades, and there was a gator in the middle of the backroad we were on. Xamia had to pound the brakes to keep from hitting it. It just looked at us, hissed, and hunkered down for half an hour or so before it moved out of our way. Actually, more like it moved out of Alaska’s way. She hopped out the front seat and waved her arms around and hollered like the devil was dragging her to hell by her toenails. It was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen her do. Roxie and Maisie and I had fun watching Xamia make the whole repressed-sexual-tension face when Alaska came back.   
I miss them all. They're probably all dead. I know for a fact that Maisie’s gone. The only reason I’m alive is the life jacket and dumb luck. Maisie got her head whacked on the controls. She's gone for sure. She's probably a decomp at the bottom of the Gulf.


	15. 2/18/11

2/18/11

Oops. Alligators prefer live food. I probably should've figured that out sooner. Oh well. Bethany’s moving herself around pretty well considering she's been recovering from six separate bullet wounds in a chlorine pool since January. Can Bethany eat decomps without dying? I’ll test it on something other than my brand new alligator pet.

**Author's Note:**

> Long story short, I came up with Jay when I watched the show with my sister and thought to myself, you know what would solve this zombie problem in two seconds flat? Big predators like bears and crocodiles. Also, I wanted to pay tribute to the fact that I was in a swim team for two years and now have plenty of useless knowledge about swim races.
> 
> Love you all,  
> carrie


End file.
